Tuesday, February 21, 2012

PMS Cravings: Nutrition Bars

PMS Cravings and nutrition bars? To that you may say, puh-lease...But don't disregard me as a health nut just yet. I often find during my holiday I fall under the cravings spell. I must have...that certain type of food. To which I will go to great lengths to obtain...unwrap my child's chocolate covered pretzels from under the Christmas Tree (don't worry I replaced them!) or travel long distances to obtain that certain cupcake, you know the one.

The experiences each woman has during her Ladies Holiday are varied and unique, but one of the most common is the urge to eat something sweet or salty to satisfy a hunger unrelated to physical need. Emotional eating around the time of PMS is serious and should be given time and attention, but when issues surrounding that have been resolved and you really just want some chocolate dang it, go ahead, indulge.

However, sometimes our indulgences leave us feeling not so good. I mean I only intended to eat a few chocolates, but then the entire box was gone or I bake cookies under the guise of donating them to a friend, then eat half the batch, okay the whole batch. My solution, each month I will offer some alternatives to the Oreo cookie binge, the jumbo bag of chips or...fill in the blank. Options you can feel good about while also satisfying that sweet or salty tooth. It’s going to be called PMS Cravings. With me?

*Note these are not in order of preference, just random. I did have two tasters helping me and included some of their findings.

Go Raw Live granola bar: Seedy, crunchy. Not too sweet, which is a welcome change from the usual. Gluten, wheat and nut free. The nut free component is fairly rare for bars. Ingredients are simple, organic and sprouted. Alive means the seeds were sprouted in water and dried at a temperature of less than 105 degrees, making it easier to digest. Also 300mg of Omega-3s!

Luna Bar white chocolate macadamia: branded for women. Contains calcium, folic acid, vitamin D and iron.Is 70% organic. Sweet little package quote about how a woman has inspired a customer.Only 11g sugar so it is considered low-glycemic, however my sugar sensitive body felt the rush.9g protein and 3g fiber.Sourced from non-gmos. But may contain traces of dairy and wheat. My tasters thought this one was THE BEST, perhaps on account of the sweetness! Tester one: "Great texture." Tester two: "It tastes like a rice crispy treat."

Kind Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio. Taster one, before: “That one doesn’t look digestible.” After: “That is the best one, it is really good, a wonderful array of tastes.” Gluten, dairy and wheat free, non-gmo. This one was tasty and boasts that its loaded with antioxidents, vitamin a, c and e. Sinple ingredients also make this one a top choice.

Bora Bora: Pacific Mango Macadamia: Taster two: “So good.” Lots of chewing required. Antioxidant rich. Gluten free, organic, vegan. Inspired by the "pure" aspects of Bora bora. I had an “Exotic Coconut Almond” superfood bar that was so good I found an excuse to do this project and I have to say I could eat one of those every a day. And I don’t know about you, but I could take a Ladies Holiday to Bora Bora any day.

Larabar: Coconut Cream Pie- response from my tasters: “Mmm, this is good.” Their mouths were full, what more needed to be said. And I have to agree, coconut-y with a pleasing texture. Simple ingredients: dates, unsweetened coconut, almonds, cashews, extra virgin coconut oil, that simple. The philosophy is straightforward too: “We at Larabar believe a sound mind, body and spirit are derived from food in its simplest, most natural state. Gluten, dairy and soy free, non-gmo, vegan and kosher.

You'll notice I didn't include any chocolate choices, but there are many: chocolate peanut butter, chocolate mint, brownie flavor just to name a few.

Met a bar you like? Please share!

Salty and sweetly,

Deirdre

*I was not given or compensated to review these products. I just wanted to try them all so I did... But there are so many flavors I would not object to being sent more for taste test and review and maybe even giveaways. Hint, hint.

you just listed some of my faves...I used to give my daughter a GoRaw bar because they are SO chewy when she was teething. She could gnaw at that thing like a dog would gnaw on a bone for hours. GoRaw bars will always have a special place in my mommy memory banks :)

I have never heard of some of these nutrition bars. Thanks for sharing. I am a new follower from the Tiggerific Tuesday Blog Hop. I would love for you to hop over and visit Saving and Sharing It. You can also link up to my Time for Sharing Tuesday Blog Hop.